I am glad it works for you, but it doesn't work for me on my MAC OS Lion. Even more ironic is that Elements 9 also doesn't work as a plugin in Lightroom 4.

It's an Adobe problem and they should get it fixed with an update. Lamely saying it worked on the beta version isn't an answer. It just shows how sloppy the Adobe crew is to get out the full version so they can start making money even though their program doesn't fully work.

I think you are misunderstanding the issue. Adobe recognizes that plugins not working (including Elements 9) it is their problem and are seeking a solution. Apparently, the plugins worked for the beta version of Lightroom 4, but the full upgrade, which Adobe started selling a week ago, does not. Adobe says its engineers are working on the problem.

I think I can offer a solution. If the beta worked perfectly but the new full version doesn't, why not simply switch them round? Sell the beta as the full version, and the full version can be taken back to beta whilst they put back the code they took out. Can only take an hour or so surely.

To save time for new folks just joining the thread who are hopefully skipping to the end to cut to the chase, here's a link to the post by Brett (Adobe customer support) providing the workaround info for both Windows and OS X users.

Mac OS X users note: Installing Photoshop Elements 10, on a trial or paid basis, will not resolve the problem. Installing Photoshop CS5 will. This workaround will continue to work even after the trial period expires.

At this point we'd be best serving newcomers to this thread if we keep pointing them to this information rather than engaging in verbal jousting.

As an addendum to the redirect that awyvr posted above for those seeking the Windows and Mac fixes and in particular for those like Vincent earlier who are not fully au fait with computery things I'd just mention the following.

1. Windows users only need to apply the patch as copied to Notepad and linked above. However, Windows users who are not comfortable releasing a patch they don't understand on to their computer can instead download and install the CS5 trial software.

2. Mac users apparently can only sort the problem by downloading and installing the CS5 trial. The patch doesn't apply to Macs.

3. Both Windows and Mac users who decide to go the CS5 route only need to install the software NOT run it. In other words once the CS5 software trial is installed i.e. added to the list of programs on your computer you don't need to launch/open/run the program. Its presence on your computer is enough. This has the added advantage of not initiating the trial period so if an Adobe fix is not available before long the CS5 trial will continue to sort the Edit In problem without expiring.

Plenty of people have now got LR4 working using the above methods. The CS5 install is straightforward apart from the download time and risk free. The Windows patch is one of those things which tinkers with the fuel fods of your computer but so long as the very concise and simple instructions are followed it too is completely effective. Anyone wading this far through the thread and still not convinced LR4 can ever be worth the price paid please be reassured that these answers that other forum respondents have come up with do indeed do the trick.

Some users have experienced problems when using external plug-ins within Lightroom 4. The reason for this a bug in the retail version of Lightroom 4, which unfortunately may also affect Nik Software plug-ins under certain circumstances. Adobe is already working on a solution, which will be available with their next update.

Upon release of this update by Adobe Nik Software plug-ins can be used within Lightroom 4 as usual. Please make sure to download the newest version of your plug-ins before using them in Lightroom".

I shared this info just to let everybody know that Adobe, Nik and most probably the other plug-in companies are collaborating to solve the problem. When I noticed the bug in my just-bought LR4 I was very upset, as most of us. But seeing that companies, and especially Adobe are working seriously on it, makes me feel better.

We are not being left alone with the software we bought, let's be patient.

A suggestion to Adobe customer care: maybe sending a mail to customers who bought LR4 on Adobe's site, explaining the situation, could be a good way of letting customers know you care about them. This will not avoid completely angry messages on fora, because many people may have bought it somewhere else, but sure it would help in keeping things smooth.

What kind of text editor did you use ? You really need a very basic text editor, not one which would format your text a little. WordPad for instance could create problems.

Try creating the document again. Open NotePad and create a new document. Paste the text again. It was written in bold to make clear what the text to paste was. Make sure that you have only unformated text; if you are really in Notepad, you shouldn't see bold character anymore. If you see that, you are not in a basic text editor and this may be the cause of the problem.In order to be sure that you are saving only text and not any format, save your file as text only and keep the .txt suffix. Then rename the file second Brett's indications, after it has been correctly saved as text only.

Well, give it a try at least, this may be your problem, or may be not.. Good luck.

I tried installing the Photoshop CS5 trial. I already had Design Premium CS5 installed, as well as the CS6 trial. but I installed the Photoshop CS 5.1 trial anyway. No dice - Nik plugins still don't show up in the "Edit in..." menu. Any thoughts?

The registry fix works whether you had Photoshop installed or not. I'm sure this has been addressed a number of times in this thread. The Mac OS X fix works.

You are correct, I do consider the problem to be a minor inconvenience. Since reliable work arounds exist for Lightroom 4 running on either Windows and Mac OS X, for now, the "problem" is solved. No (more) downtime.

@7thsojourn - i think, unfortunately, there are some who confuse the complexity/nature of the problem/fix itself with the actual impact on a user. Or certainly give that impression. User experience often comes low down the food chain. Let's hope none such work for Adobe, who I'm sure are making double efforts to test a core fix.

A certain feature might seem simple and trivial, broken for a silly reason, fixed by a simple manual intervention. But that doesn't mean that while it is broken it doesn't have a large impact. It's a bit like saying that a missing a SAVE command is a small hiccup, because you can poke around the web and find a simple set of instructions to create a workaround. Meanwhile, until you have done so and the feature is unavailable to you, it is a big impact on your work. Missing that feature will always be a big impact. And so it is with the "edit in" feature in my own workflow.

It actually doesn't matter what anyone else *thinks* - it's you, or I, that determine what the impact/incovenience is to ourselves if the function is broken. The functionality is essential for me. Missing an essential fuction is more than inconvenient for the duration it is missing.

Thankfully, the hours wasted sorting it are reasonably small. But upgrading, downgrading, hacking around, installing stuff or whatever strategy one chooses - all takes time and effort, may or may not end up with the desired result (I fail to see how reverting versions "fixes" anything, it merely "avoids") and it's down to ourselves to value that effort.

For the benefit of others: I applied the registry fix and it has indeed eliminated the parameter error generated by the "edit" function. In my case it was not NIK software, but all my other editors including Tiffen DFX, Topaz, various Corel...

There are many of us "photographers" that are not necessarily "registry savvvy" I am one and while it works it can be a very risky move if you do not know what you are doing and mess up. Also downloading another product to get LR to function as advertised is a step no one should have to do. You purchase software with an expectation it is going to work as advertised.

While I appreciate the dedicated folks on this forum for finding and testing the workarounds and doing Adobe's job for them. I do not have that luxury and spend most of my time in the field earning my living and not being a computer jock. I will stick with LR 3.6. By the way, this is not the only issue that is impacting many users - LR4 should go down in history - the public Beta worked better than the released version!!!

Adding a single key to the registry is less risky than allowing anyone, including a photographer, from using Windows Explorer (or Mac Finder) in the file system where one keystroke - the delete button - can, conceivably, wipe out an entire disk. Is that dangerous? Yes, you bet!

The Windows Registry seems all mysterious but at its core the Registry is a central database of information that Windows and programs running on Windows can use to gain access to configuration information. Adding a key (an entry in the database) with a value is somewhat akin to adding a contact in your email address book.

Sure, it is possible to horribly screw up. Theoretically possible. No doubt some do.

I've never seen it happen myself, and I've seen plenty. I have however seen the aftermath of people deleting files by accident, plenty of times. So which is more dangerous - performing a routine task (file manipulation) or performing what might be a once-ever task (updating the registry manually)?

Updating your registry by hand with the information provided is a relatively low risk activity. Further reducing the risk of an accident, a file containing the edits required has been created and distributed (see up thread) which will eliminate the possibility of user-driven keystroke mistakes fouling up the edit.That makes the fix simple and safe enough for the masse - point and right-click and install. Done.

Warnings come along with such activity because it's just prudent to put the burden of responsibility on the user, not because the activity in this case is inherently dangerous.

I would not criticize your choice to say behind at v3.6, Mike, not at all. Staying with the prior version to LR4 was one of the options I outlined a few points above and is a perfectly valid approach that allows you maximum productivity using software you already know and the third party plugins you depend upon will continue to work with no effort on your part.

My issue was LR4 was not giving me an OPTION of sending the file to PS with the edits intact. When I would click on edit in PS, it would not bring up the secondary option box; it just sent the original image to PS CS5.5 without any edits.I installed ACR 6.7, and now the optional box to send the file to PS with or without edits comes up and it sends the right file to PS CS5.5

I my previous post I mentioned falling back to LR 3.6; this has restored my workflow and back in business. But I have to say I am really peeved; as I have put in a lot of time and effort in converting catalogs, trouble shooting, trying to find out why some of the basics do not work as advertised. The big peeve is I paid for this upgrade and Adobe is using my hard earned money - yet I cannot use the product as advertised; something is not right here.

While I know this is not an Adobe support site, I know that Adobe does look through these posts and sometimes, usually at the engineer level post comments; but would be nice to hear from Adobe what their customer support plan is for this release and when we can expect a product that is equal to, or better than the public beta.

While I understand that there will always be bugs in software there are some that should never have made it out the door. </rant>

Mike: more good points. My point to the folks who keep saying we have to press on and use the workarounds (which, by the way, don't work for everyone), is that in the end, the bottom line is that's it's the principle of the thing; we've paid for something that we're not totally able to use. As far as features are concerned, does anyone know if the released version of LR-4 offers that much more than the Beta version?

With the official patch looking like it is comming out soon (RC is apperently out at http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom4-1/), those who have tried the unofficial registry patch can safely remove it to make know whether or not the official patch works for them.

There are a few ways to remove it but here is what I feel is the safest and most fail proof way.

1) Open Notepad

2) Copy and past everything between the ******'s (not including the *****'s) into Notepad

If the Official Patch does not work for you (remember it is still in RC stage - just a bit above Beta) the unofficial patch can be put in place again by the following instructions (almost the same as above) - True it is a few pages back but hopefully this makes it easier to find

1) Open Notepad

2) Copy and past everything between the ******'s (not including the *****'s) into Notepad

I had the same problem with Nik and Topaz--got error message when I tried Edit In in Lightroom 4. I installed the latest updates from Nik (3/6/12) and Topaz. Problem did not go away. I installed the trial version of Photoshop Elements, and the problem is solved. I did not even have to open PE.